Maybe a new head coach does do a team a bit of good after all.
In Calgary, the Flames’ Noah Hanifin scored with 6:32 gone in the third period to snap a 3-3 tie and send the club to a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night.
It was the third straight win for the Flames since replacing their coach, Geoff Ward, with Darryl Sutter,
“It’s been up and down for us this year, and we’ve dealt with some adversity,” Hanifin said. “With Darryl coming in and stuff, we’ve rebounded pretty well and put together a few big games. It’s nice to see we’re playing the right way too. We’re working hard. We’re playing a full 60 [minutes]. We’re competing. Those are the signs you want to see. I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
Calgary improved to 14-12-3.
Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves to get the win.
Leon Draisaitl had tied the game at 3-3 earlier in the third period.
“It’s a rivalry game,” Edmonton’s Adam Larsson said. “It means a lot to both teams, the pride that’s going into that. But I think we just need to find ways to win games no matter who we play.
“I still think we’re doing a lot of good things. We’re getting enough chances to win games. Today we came up short, [but] we’re still a confident group. We just have to play a lot harder, but I still think we played well enough to win.”
Dillon Dubeand Elias Lindholm gave the Flames a 2-0 lead.
“It’s fun. Winning is good,” Dube said. “It makes it a lot easier coming to the rink for practice, and the energy stays a little higher.”
Larsson scored for the Oilers before Andrew Mangiapane made 3-1 for Calgary.
Josh Archibald cut the Edmonton deficit to one goals when he scored late in the middle frame.
“I think if we limit our mistakes, it limits their chances and their goals,” Archibald said. “Unfortunately for us, we made more mistakes than them tonight, and they capitalized on them.”
Mike Smith made 23 saves in the loss.
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